After playing their way out of the NCAA Tournament and foolishly declining all other postseason opportunities, Ohio State is now backboard deep in the transfer portal. All indications are that the Buckeyes are ready and willing to spend money to make money on the basketball team. When you build it, they will come. Especially at Ohio State. So here is a brief look at three players in the transfer portal that Ohio State could possibly spend some of that money on.
First is Owen Freeman, the 6’10” sophomore forward from Iowa, who is the top target of plenty of teams and with good cause. He averaged 16.7 points per game this season, along with 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Freeman shot 63.8 percent from the field this season as well.
He’s not without risk, though, as his season ended early back at the beginning of February with an injury to his shooting hand that required surgery. Without that injury, Iowa may still be playing basketball, and Fran McCaffery may still have a job in Iowa City.
Brock Harding 👉 Owen Freeman for a nifty no-look assist 😲 @IowaHoops #B1GMBBall on BTN 📺 pic.twitter.com/u6HcDSVwED
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 16, 2024
Another highly sought-after player is Dedan Thomas Jr., a sophomore from UNLV. Thomas is a 6’1” guard who played for Las Vegas for two seasons. In the 60 games he played, he averaged 14.5 points per game, 2.4 rebounds per game, and 4.9 assists per game. So far, he’s considered the only five-star prospect in the transfer portal.
Kam Craft is another one that, while a little more under the radar, has incredible potential. The 6’6” small forward played one year at Xavier in Cincinnati before heading up the road to Butler County to play at Miami (OH). Kraft was a key player on a Redhawks team that went 25-9 and just barely missed the NCAA Tournament this year. Craft is a three-point shooter who averaged 13.6 points per game this season.
If I had to choose one of these players to add to the Buckeyes, I’d probably go with Craft. That may be my bias showing because I‘ve seen him play in my part of Ohio, but helping the Redhawks get 25 wins in a season speaks volumes to me.
It’s not my decision, though. Any one of these guys would be a good addition to Ohio State. These are tough choices for Jake Diebler because his seat has been hot for most of 2025, and he needs to get the right players to win and turn this program around.